Prevent Wasted Food

Converting Confessions to Lessons Learned

Greetings, Conscientious Food Consumers!

We’ve all come a long way since the start of Kitchen Confessions, haven’t we? Doing the best we can to keep on living, working, virtual learning, shopping, cooking and eating our way through a pandemic. Getting real about wasted food in our homes, and doing what it takes to get the most out of our grocery dollars — each and every month. It’s time for some congratulations, all around!

We’re going to share some modest triumphs — ours and a few of yours — in the daily struggle against shriveled, moldy and slimy produce, leftovers that turned into science experiments, freezer-burned whatever, and many other tragedies involving formerly-edible food. These anecdotes illustrate positive outcomes from increased awareness of our daily food habits.

Remember also to pat yourselves on the back, Conscientious Food Consumers, for helping to conserve all those precious natural and human resources — energy, soil, water, labor, packaging, transportation and delivery systems — that went into your food. And locally, you’re helping to meet the goals of the in the Corvallis Climate Action Plan, in which reduction of wasted food is a high priority (p.17).

We like how Mishele M. of Corvallis puts it:
“It’s a mindset, that it’s unconscionable to throw anything away. That food gave its life for us, so why would we throw it away?! We don’t take our resources lightly.”  Here’s more about why prevention of wasted food matters.

CONFESSIONS CONVERTED/LESSONS LEARNED: NFLB staff

Jeanette’s non-edible composting

JEANETTE: It’s a happy day in my household when I prepare to empty the contents of my compost pail and see ONLY non-edible food scraps, peels, and trimmings. I feel like, yay! We’re getting it right!

Karen’s see-through Eat First! bins

KAREN: Thanks to Kitchen Confessions, I’ve had to keep up with reality-checking in my own kitchen and being candid about it all… Especially after using our DIY Wasted Food Discovery worksheet, and I realized I was potentially wasting as much as $1,000 a year!

So I set a goal of saving at least $5 per week through better leftovers management in my Eat First! areas, and converted a couple of clear plastic salad containers into see-through Eat First! bins. They keep the items in one place, instead of migrating all over in the fridge! One for greens (layered with damp paper towels) and one for wrapped fruit/veggie, cheese or protein remnants. For at least one meal each day, I rummage in there and head for the blender, skillet or sheet pan.

LESSON LEARNED: It’s easy to save $5/week by making one meal each day using items from Eat First! It’s also easier now to stay on top of my “alligator pears”!

JEANETTE: Best.Glass.Of.Juice.Ever.
A few forgotten mandarin oranges in the bottom of our fridge drawer were discolored and shriveling. I hoped there was still some way to enjoy them, NOT just waste them in compost. So I cut one open and voila! Inside there was still plenty of moisture and good color. I remembered I had a plastic hand juicer tool in the cupboard and went to town. Result: a glass of deliciousness!

 

CONFESSIONS CONVERTED/LESSONS LEARNED: Community members

  • No milk or corncob scraps left behind (Stasi K of Corvallis)
    When milk doesn’t smell or taste perfect anymore but is still “ok” to consume (a bit sour but not curdling), I use it right away in place of buttermilk in pancakes or I’ll freeze it to cook with (heating it provides additional safety).

We also take boiled corn on the cob, slice off and eat the corn, then take the remaining cob/husks and simmer them in the same water for half an hour to make corn stock for a nice flavor addition (can be used like veggie stock). Just strain off the solids.

FOOD SAFETY NOTE: for dairy and other safe food storage info, search StillTasty.com or FoodKeeper, a comprehensive resource from the USDA. It’s one of several handy tools on NFLB’s Apps page.

  • Friendly fridge reminders (Mishele M of Corvallis)

My spouse and I grew up with Depression-era parents, so in both our families the culture is to never, ever throw anything out unless it’s truly inedible. If something DOES start to get old, we just cook it instead of eating it raw.

I’ve trained my hubby not to take items out of the freezer for a meal if something else is already waiting to be eaten up in the fridge. We’ve also found that keeping things well-labeled and to the front of the fridge shelves helps us know which items to attend to next!

When root veggies go soft, we crisp them back up in cold water. That works well for greens too, like Swiss chard and beet greens. We just place them upright in a glass in the fridge or on windowsill.

NOTE: Here’s more helpful tips on freshening up veggies and other compost-rescue strategies.

  • No cukes or zukes left behind (Susan S of Corvallis)
    We used to store our purchased cucumbers in plastic bags, and weren’t eating them up fast enough. Then we learned from NFLB’s A-Z Fruit & Veggie Storage Guide how to properly store them loosely in the crisper drawer. Now our cukes last longer and don’t get slimy, maybe a bit limp or dehydrated, so we slice and crisp them up in cold water.

With zucchinis: we like to shred them and mix with salt, which pulls out the moisture, then grab fistfuls and squeeze out as much of the juice as possible. From there it can be substituted in place of potato in latkes/pancakes, or as a base layer for homemade pizza. The zuke gets soft and it makes the pizza super moist!

  • Cider now, cider later (Pat W of Corvallis)
    One reader responded to our apple blog last year with this no-waste tip: I always split jugs of fresh cider and put (half) in the freezer for another time.

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Got a Confession/Lesson Learned to Share? We’d love to hear your anecdotes about how you’re able to waste less food! Let us know by commenting below.  You can also submit via our contact page: https://nofoodleftbehindcorvallis.org/contact/.

Kids rocking the waste-less kitchen

Greetings, Conscientious Food Consumer Families!

In this edition of Kitchen Confessions, we’d like to offer some resources and support to families of Future Chefs and Conscientious Consumers. It’s the middle of summer vacation, so hopefully you are having some opportunities to enjoy spending time in the kitchen together!

How many of your treasured memories involve cooking and food preparation in the family kitchen? Did the pandemic help your family rediscover the joy of cooking at home?

Many kids are eager to help in the kitchen from the time they can maneuver on their own two feet in there and comprehend an adult’s instructions. From that point on, they’re learning significant life lessons about the value of food, food preferences, nutrition and how to shop, as well as desirable practices in the handling and preparation of food. Sustainable food practices are skills that will serve children for the rest of their lives!

Just like us grownups — but as appropriate for their age and with adult supervision — kids can learn how to plan meals and create shopping lists for what’s on the plan, to properly store perishable food and, finally, how to prepare it. After the meal, they can learn how to properly freeze leftovers and other foods, and to start regularly scouting the “Eat First” areas in the fridge or freezer. (All these “Smart Strategies” available in Spanish.)

Young Farmers’ Market patron’s waste-less pledge: “Take only what I will eat”

KNOW-HOW FOR KIDZ WHO COOK

You may already be familiar with the glow of pride and accomplishment on a child’s face when the family enjoys a dish or meal that he/she/they helped prepare, or that they made all by themselves!

Excellent resources for kids learning to cook are available from Oregon State University’s KidSpirit year-round programs (scholarships available), and Food Hero, offered free by the OSU Extension Service’s Family and Community Health division.

Both programs emphasize safe kitchen practices (including washing hands often) and offer an extensive selection of kid-friendly recipes for making healthy food, while helping kids develop confidence and have fun! Food Hero’s compendium of family resources includes gardening, large-batch cooking, and information for older adults and in Spanish.

Be sure to check out the huge list of videos at Food Hero’s Kids Cooking Show — including Grape and Cucumber Salad, a fresh and yummy summertime snack!

WASTE-LESS KIDZ WHO COOK:

  • Are learning to make the most of a family grocery budget, instead of just tossing things in the compost or garbage. (The average American family of four wastes at least $1,600 a year on food that was purchased but not eaten!)
  • May stretch their comfort zones as picky eaters. (I had one of those in my home.) A kid who says “beets are gross” may be willing to sample some pretty pink-colored hummus that he/she/they made themselves from a kid-friendly recipe. Bonus: beet juice is great for coloring summertime Easter eggs!
  • Eat “ugly” produce (like apples with minor bruising, spotted grapes, strangely-shaped tomatoes) or other food products with less-than-perfect characteristics — and have fun doing it.  Next time you see the OSU student Organic Growers Club at the downtown Saturday Farmers’ Market, ask if they still give away free “ugly” produce!
  • Learn portion control early. Many kids are happy to serve themselves when they get the chance. Let’s help them be like our young Farmers’ Market patron (above) who pledged to “take only what I will eat” on her next plate!
  • Learn good waste-less habits early. Check out these waste-less training tips for kids from SaveTheFood.com to see how they resonate with your parenting approach.
  • Make friends with their family freezer. Remember those overripe bananas that were saved from the compost a couple months ago by popping them in the freezer? It’s Banana Smoothie Time! Or popsicles…  Or maybe even banana ice cream for breakfast!
  • Get creative with what’s collecting on the “Eat First” shelf in the fridge. See a video of the “aha” moment for this father and daughter below! Delight your budding chef with the task of assembling “Bagel Faces” from leftover veggie and fruit pieces, or maybe the last few olives in the jar. Thanks to Mollie Katzen and her charmingly-illustrated cookbooks for younger children.
  • Keep making friends with their family freezer.  Oh boy! Frozen grape “ice cubes” (great for iced tea and sodas)! All because somebody got proactive with the last third of a bunch that had started to shrivel. Veggie freezing tips here.
  • Enjoy portion control as part of summertime grilling and social gatherings. Foil-wrapped grill packages or bamboo skewers (with the sharpest point removed) are perfect for this. First kids help prep ingredients, then load up their own appropriately-sized servings. Wrinkled cherry tomatoes and peppers from the “Eat First” shelf can be pretty tasty right off the grill! Same with summer squash, onions, leftover chicken nuggets/tempeh, or what have you.

Getting creative with what’s already in the fridge! Credit: StopFoodWaste.org

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NEW IN LOCAL SCHOOLS THIS FALL!
A fun educational video in English and Spanish, starring local kids

We’re pleased to shine a brief spotlight on NFLB’s amazing “Eco-EduTainment” program for local schools, run by our Outreach Specialist Kjersten Hallin, aka Magic Mama. When the pandemic shut down schools, she also shifted digital and began developing an educational video as a fun new way to teach kids about the massive issues around food waste and climate change.

Anyone who’s seen “Magic Mama” at the downtown Farmers’ Market (prior to COVID19) or in their classroom knows what a delightful presence she brings to this huge topic. Her curriculum, delivered with the help of some catchy raps performed on unusual handmade instruments (like a repurposed pizza box), inspires kids to “rock” the prevention of wasted food in their own families and social circles of influence.

More than just entertaining, Kjersten’s presentations also help schools fulfill their district’s core and STEM education goals. (Please click on the photo to jump to NFLB’s Eco-EduTainment program page.)

Watch for exciting details about the Eco-EduTainment videos, launching in 4th and 5th grade classrooms this fall!

 

No “Alligator Pears” left behind

Greetings, Conscientious Food Consumers!

The sunshine season has finally arrived here in the Mid-Willamette Valley, and with it the bursting cornucopias of fresh colorful fruits and veggies in our local gardens and Farmers’ Markets — from strawberries, beans and broccoli to cherries, peaches and snap peas. Hooray for our local growers and harvesters!

One “fruit” I particularly enjoy that is not grown locally is avocado — also known as the “alligator pear” because of its shape and mottled, reptilian-like skin. Botanically speaking, it is a fruit (actually a berry)! It’s also a nutritional superstar, containing healthy fats, fiber, potassium and an impressive profile of other vitamins that make it a staple of healthy and specialized diets like keto.

NFLB’s “Avocado Hero” mascot

Many of the avocados consumed in the U.S. are grown in California, so they are plentiful in Oregon. I love ’em stuffed and on toast, in guacamole, sushi, fresh salads, dressing, salsa and many other dishes. Avocado is also a prime ingredient in high quality cooking oil, skin care and cosmetic products.

But as I have experienced — and I bet you have too — avocados are highly perishable! How often do you need more than one and bring home a discounted mesh bag of avocados, intending to make a big dish of guacamole (we love this recipe from First Alternative Co-op)… only to find yourself stuck with a batch of mushy, shriveled or off-tasting avos several days later?

For sure it happens, and I CONFESS: I’m still working on “no alligator pears left behind”! I tend to waste 1-2 a month, for varying reasons (more on that below).

Credit: California Avocado Commission

HOW TO RIPEN & STORE YOUR “ALLIGATOR PEARS”

The first thing to remember about avocados after you get them home is that they emit ethylene, a naturally-occurring gas given off by certain fruits (such as bananas, apples and tomatoes) as part of their maturation cycle.

This off-gassing will speed up the ripening (and potential waste) of nearby fruit or veggies. If you want to help those rock-hard avocados along in that process, place them in a paper bag (not plastic), labeled, with the date.

  • Check these tips from the experts in the avocado industry. (They do NOT recommend consuming the pits!)
  • As advised in our handy A-Z Fruit and Vegetable Storage Guide, store them separately from other fruits or veggies on the counter and check often for ripeness, before transferring to a visible/accessible spot in the fridge (your “Eat First” area). (Keep separate.)
  • One of our regular Kitchen Confessions readers has discovered the egg rack in the refrigerator door is perfect for storing avocados!
  • To prevent browning on cut avocados, spritz on some lemon or lime juice and store in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic.
  • Check Still Tasty.com for more details about storing fresh avocados.
Credit: California Avocado Commission

WHAT TO DO WITH THOSE OVER-RIPE “ALLIGATOR PEARS”

  • PUREE ‘EM and stick ’em in puddings or smoothies! BigOven.com has lots of recipes for Chocolate Avocado mousse.
  • BAKE WITH ‘EM: Make avocado chocolate chip brownies or muffins! Check your favorite foodie website or blog.
  • FREEZE ‘EM (after slicing or pureeing) and transfer to freezer-safe containers for later use (don’t forget to make a note on your handy Freezer Inventory!)
  • DON’T MAKE GUAC WITH ‘EM! In my experience, bad avos ruin the taste.
  • GROW AN AVOCADO HOUSEPLANT with the pit.

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Now for this edition’s Kitchen Confessions!

Karen’s dead alligator pear
Half eaten, not enjoyed; the other half went into a smoothie

KAREN CONFESSES:

I love avocados, but can never eat a whole one at one time. Even when I buy just one at a time and try to carefully monitor its ripening, I frequently end up with the other half becoming inedible!

At left, an avo that was at the appropriate stage of ripeness. But during a recent roadtrip, it had spent some time in and out of the cooler, and had begun to spoil. After a couple of off-tasting spoonfuls, I made a shake with the rest.

At right, a dead avo that I put in a paper bag on the counter to ripen, then forgot that it was in there! (It was an unlabeled, nondescript paper bag that I managed to ignore.)

$$$ WASTED: Around $5-$6/month

LESSONS LEARNED: Mark the bag or put an “Eat First” label on my brown bagged avocados. Also I will probably start buying two avocados at a time, use one right away, and follow my own advice to puree/freeze one avocado for later!

Avocado sticker by local company, Plant Posse

NO FOOD LEFT BEHIND IN THE MEDIA
Did you see our spread in the Summer 2021 issue of the Co-op Thymes? Many thanks to Editor Adam Payson for this wonderful feature!

Carrot Top Pesto & other “zero waste” ideas

Greetings, Conscientious Food Consumers!

We’re still giddy over the response to our first-ever Leftovers Recipes Contest (Drawing), in which local Conscientious Chefs shared creative methods for wasting less food and money at home, one meal at a time! Thanks again to all who participated.

Emily S.’ Leftover Spaghetti Pie

We’re pleased to highlight in this blog some of our Recipe Contest chefs who are tossing fewer items into the compost and making more soups, casseroles, pesto, curry and muffins — thus demonstrating a “zero waste” kind of mindset. Be sure to check out our new Recipes for Leftovers section, which we hope will provide you with some fresh inspiration as well as more $aving$ for your grocery budget!

Remarkably, one of our original drawing winners donated her gift card — so we were delighted to be able to do a second drawing. Congrats to our “Runner Up” drawing winner Emily S. of Philomath, whose leftover Spaghetti Pie has also been uploaded to our new Recipes section.

(Note: you’ll see quotes around the term “zero waste” because I’m using it rather loosely.)

FROM LESS WASTED FOOD TO “ZERO WASTE”

For many of us, even if we’re actively pursuing a more sustainable lifestyle, “zero waste” may sound a little intimidating.

You’re already being more conscious about wasting less food at home. You’re already working the 3R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. What more can you do? You can step it up and place added focus on “Reduce,” which means preventing waste in the first place. With everything we use and consume — especially in our own kitchens — we can all develop a “zero waste” mindset that asks:

    • “What can I do with this before it becomes part of the waste stream?
    • Can I eat it/reuse it/compost it/recycle it first?”

In Kitchen Confessions terms: how can you do more with the food you already have? How can you use parts of the food you don’t typically think of as edible, like cheese rinds? Produce peels, rinds, stalks, tops and bottoms? Bones and coffee grounds? Keep scrolling, Conscientious Food Consumers!

COMPOSTING VERSUS ZERO WASTE

Most of the time, we on the NFLB staff downplay composting in our messaging and outreach, even though we do actively support the practice. Why downplay it? Composting can make it easy for us to excuse our wasting habits. If the food that got composted was edible in the first place, then technically it was still wasted! See our page: “What About Composting?”

Given the scale of the food waste problem, composting is “inextricably linked” with zero waste. But the real goal with “zero waste” is to maximize, as much as possible, the resources represented in every part of our food.

Producing soil amendment from spoiled and/or undesirable food is certainly better than sending that inedible organic waste to the landfill. In Corvallis and Philomath, residents have the option of curbside composting through Republic Services, while OSU’s Extension Service offers advice on getting started with backyard composting.

Donna T’s Watermelon Rind Pickles
Donna T’s Carrot Top Pesto
Sarah B’s Veggie Scrap Soup Stock

SOME “ZERO WASTE” CONTEST RECIPES

  • Donna T.’s Carrot Top Pesto (shown as handy frozen single portions) and Watermelon Rind Pickles, using those parts that typically go to waste.
  • “I haven’t paid for vegetable stock in years,” boasts Sarah B. when introducing her Vegetable Scrap Soup Stock. Her family’s stock-from-scratch doesn’t need aseptic packaging and uses veggies and trimmings that others might toss: “any sad and wilted individuals from the bottom of your veggie crisper,” carrot or parsnip ends/peels, onion skins/ends, mushroom stems, cauliflower/cabbage cores/leaves, kale stems, or celery stumps.
  • “Almost anything goes!” says Rebecka W. of her One Pot Adaptable Curry — a  recipe she “adapts” with odds and ends from her spice cabinet as well as whatever she finds at fridge clean-out time.
  • Mali G. blends up random fruits/veggies, and found a great new way to use the byproduct with her Juice Pulp Muffins!
  • Donna P. prepares her Everything Ramen Soup with random leftovers and stock from “scraps that I am cutting off of the produce, like onion butts, carrot tops, chard stems, mushroom stems, bits of ginger that have gotten tough, meat bones — pretty much anything that isn’t funky or rotten…”
www.eatyourselfskinny.com/juice-pulp-muffins/
Donna P’s Everything Ramen Soup
Rebecka W’s One Pot Adaptable Curry

TODAY’S KITCHEN CONFESSION:

I CONFESS that I am still learning what “zero waste” means!

I must also FRANKLY CONFESS that in this blog, I’ve been using the term rather loosely to describe recipes with ingredients that would normally get tossed or composted. Assuming these dishes were completely consumed (either by people or people food-loving animals), they might then qualify as truly “zero waste” recipes!

In the waste management and recycling industries, “zero waste” is a complex topic. It’s also a growing global movement that is fundamentally altering human attitudes and practices regarding our relationship to natural resources, consumption and waste disposal.  Learn more about the “zero waste” movement!

A few recommended resources:

As a project of the Waste Prevention Action Team of the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition, the NFLB campaign and Kitchen Confessions are here to help you (and ourselves) “step it up” along the path to zero waste!

Leftover Recipe Contest Winners!

Happy Earth Day/Week, Conscientious Food Consumers!

Our first-ever Recipe Contest featuring YOUR LEFTOVERS is a big success! Many thanks to everyone who participated. You ALL are winners in the No Food Left Behind movement!

We received 25 submissions for tasty, homey and creative meals, including ethnic and zero-waste-inspired dishes. Our contest chefs reported saving anywhere from $3-$20 with their recipes and prevented at-risk items like these from going into their compost bins or garbage carts:

  • Carrot tops, cauliflower stems/leaves, wrinkly tomatoes, squash, kale, greens and other past-prime veggies;
  • Leftover turkey, chicken, chicken bones and canned tuna fish;
  • Leftover spaghetti, mashed potatoes, beans, macaroni, takeout rice;
  • Bruised peaches, overripe bananas, even veggie pulp from the juicer;
  • Year-old Valentine’s chocolates!
  • Past “Use By” and “Best By” dated cans of tuna, packaged pancake mix,  packaged shredded coconut. (Note: see “Check before you chuck it,” about those dates on food containers and packaging.)

We had a lot of fun reviewing your wonderful submissions, and wished we could have doubled the number of Co-op gift cards for our drawing! Reminder: although we called it a “contest,” it was actually a random drawing — from a real straw hat.

Amy’s spiced up leftover chicken
Marvel’s sheetpan roasted veggies & feta made enough for two leftover dinners!
Virginia’s mac-n-leftover squash-n-cheese

CONGRATULATIONS to our Drawing Winners:

  • AMY B., Leftover Chicken with Indian Spices
  • MARVEL V., Sheetpan Noodle Soup
  • VIRGINIA N., Mac-N-Leftover Squash-N-Cheese

Again, HUGE thanks to everyone who submitted! Your recipes will be listed on our NEW Leftover Recipes compilation page (under construction) and may also be shared on our NFLB Facebook page (“NFLBCorvallis”).

A FEW FAVES:

  • Sue’s Tom Kha Gai (Thai Coconut Soup), combining the divine flavors of lemongrass, curry paste, coconut milk with leftover meat/veggies, served over leftover takeout rice;
  • Sarah’s Always-Homemade Soup Stock from veggie scraps stored in the freezer;
  • Leigh Ann’s Grits & Greens, making Southern comfort food with polenta and aging greens;
  • Olin’s Olde Valentine Choco-Coco Cookies; and
  • Donna’s Watermelon Rind Pickles and Carrot Top Pesto

NFLB STAFF RECIPES: Unbeknownst to one another, we both did something with tuna fish! (Note: staff recipes were not included in the drawing.)

Many of us have made nachos before, but what about Tuna Nachos? That’s what Jeanette, NFLB’s Director, was inspired to do. She says they were just as tasty as the conventional kind!

I was inspired by a childhood memory of “Fish Fridays” to make Tuna Patties with Picklejuice Crema, using a couple of “expired” cans of tuna in my pantry. Instead of standard tartar sauce, I used some juice from my favorite dill pickles that was left over in the jar after all the pickles were gone. (I’ll never throw pickle juice out again!)

CONGRATULATIONS again to our contest winners!

In our next Kitchen Confessions, we’ll highlight several zero-waste recipes from our drawing. The zero-waste approach in the kitchen utilizes even more parts of food and thus prevents more greenhouse gases. HAPPY EARTH DAY 2021!

 

Waste happens. Own it-Track it-$ave!

Greetings, Conscientious Food Consumers!

With spring unfolding here in the mid-Willamette Valley, it’s time for some cleaning, clearing out and… confessing!

We’ve been saying it here for almost a year now: WASTED FOOD = WASTED MONEY. But exactly how much, and why? That’s where our newly-updated D.I.Y. Wasted Food Discovery self-audit form, both in English and Spanish, comes in handy. Try it for a week, and you’ll gain some valuable insights about your household’s food-wasting habits. Behaviors change when we measure them.

Gautami, NFLB’s OSU intern (2019)

You may become inspired to keep doing it on a regular basis — especially after discovering how many grocery dollars you can keep from going down the drain, compost bin or garbage!

OWN IT: Waste happens!

Are you ready to admit that waste happens in your kitchen? It’s not about guilt (although that can be a motivator) — it’s being willing to get real, about how some items in your fridge, freezer and pantry that coulda/shoulda been prepared and eaten ended up wasted instead. Keep reading for a look at what I discovered!

WHAT GOT WASTED

TRACK IT: What got wasted, and why?

With our D.I.Y. Wasted Food Discovery Week form, tallying up the food items that went slimy, spoiled, freezer-burned or forgotten isn’t complicated. You’ll estimate:

  • The amounts and types of food (it’s okay to “guestimate” your leftover portions/servings, packages or containers — I used cups, ounces and servings for my calculations);
  • The full or proportional cost for each of those items;
  • If you have a kitchen scale, measure the weight of wasted items.

WHY IT GOT WASTED: Recall the circumstances or trail of events from the market to your compost pail or trash can for your listed items. This step is your key to change!

You know how it goes… * Ran out of time to cook or cooked too much?  * Fridge or freezer over-stuffed? * Too tired to get creative with leftovers? * Marked down/sale items go stale or moldy before you know it? * Bananas turned brown or avocados went bad because they were hanging out on the counter together? (Both emit ethylene gas, which hastens the ripening process.)

ADD IT UP. One week’s wasted $$ x 52 weeks in a year… Prepare to be shocked! (I certainly was.)

Here’s what I learned from my Wasted Food Discovery Week.

WHY IT WAS WASTED

Karen Confesses:

Despite blogging and becoming much more vigilant about my own kitchen habits during the past year, I still waste too much!

After a quick review, I discovered that my main problems are inadequate meal prep and managing the Eat First shelf of my fridge and pantry. I also still have issues with wasting avocados and bananas (two of my favorites).

Lessons Learned:

  • Check avocado(s) for ripeness every day! Use or transfer to fridge once ripe, or within 3 days of purchase.
  • Buy fewer of the items I’m eating less of (like sugar- and carb-heavy products).
  • Freeze leftover broth in cubes rather than letting an open carton spoil in the fridge.
  • Buy fewer bananas and just eat ’em — rather than sticking in freezer smoothie bags.
  • Check/update my Freezer Inventory every week!
$$ POTENTIALLY WASTED, 1 YEAR (Omg!)

$$$ Wasted:

This is my worst Kitchen Confession of all! Just one week’s waste in my little kitchen represented a potential loss of over $1,000 in one year! That’s a pretty significant chunk — and a HUGE motivation for me to walk the talk, follow my own advice more, and WASTE LESS.

WHAT TO DO. You’ll have some good ideas once you’ve completed your own Wasted Food Discovery Week. Let our Smart Strategies support your improved habits and behaviors for less future waste.

  • Do you need more meal planning? More prep after your groceries come home?
  • Do you need better storage? (we also recommend StillTasty.com)
  • Do you need to inventory what’s in your freezer or pantry?
  • Do you need more Eat First signs for your leftovers, and are they clearly date-labeled?

Also see our previous Kitchen Confessions for resources and tips you may have missed.

RECIPE CONTEST DEADLINE EXTENSION!

We’re extending the deadline for our Leftovers Recipe Contest an extra week to Sunday, APRIL 11th! What’s your latest hack or culinary inspiration for making use of those random items on the Eat First shelf of your fridge, freezer or pantry?

Here’s of a few of our entries so far: Spaghetti Pie, Mashed Potato Pancakes, Peach Pancake Mix Muffins, Olde Valentine Choco-Coco Bites, and Tuna Cakes with Pickle Cream.

Every recipe is an entry to win a $30 gift card from First Alternative Coop. We’d love to see yours!

Recipe contest for leftovers!

Greetings, Conscientious Food Consumers!

It’s time for something different with our Kitchen Confessions. We’re going to talk about recipes — and we’re going to ask for YOURS!

You could win one of three $30 gift cards to First Alternative Co-op!

We haven’t delved much into the topic of recipes before, but they are certainly key to achieving our goal of less wasted food in the home — because:

  • Recipes can provide both inspiration and how-to.
  • They can jump start your meal planning and shopping lists.
  • Whether your cooking approach is conventional or freestyle, recipes can help you feel creative when confronted with that assortment of random food items in your “Eat First” food storage areas.
  • Recipes can help you use what you have and make the most of those grocery $$ you already spent!

During the past 11 months, we’ve explored why wasted food matters and what you can do about it. We’ve reminded ourselves that 30-40% of edible food in the U.S. ends up in the trash or compost pail instead of being eaten, representing a deplorable amount of wasted water, energy, labor, and money. For an average American family of four, that’s at least $1600/year!

We’ve offered strategies and resources — like our handy “Eat First” signs, in English and Spanish — for helping you, Conscientious Food Consumers, take steps for preventing that waste from happening at home and for stretching your food dollars during this pandemic era. Check out Adventures in Leftovers Land and our previous Kitchen Confessions for topics you may have missed.

Now it’s your turn! We’d love to publicize your unique recipes made from leftovers.

Share those dishes that spring forth from the items in the “Eat First!” areas of your fridge, freezer or pantry before they spoiled, shriveled, freezer-burned or became otherwise inedible. It can be as simple as a short narrative of your list of leftovers and other ingredients you combine into a surprisingly delicious meal, OR a more traditional-style recipe listing of the ingredients and the step-by-step for your unique creation. 

Here’s how to submit your recipe — but please keep reading for important details!

HINT: We’re not looking for recipes from your favorite celebrity chef or America’s Test Kitchen! We prefer YOUR home-tested recipes that are a) relatively simple, b) don’t involve much prep time or specialized appliances, and c) DO involve using up leftover food items.

Here’s a few examples:

  • Stir-fried leftover pasta and veggies
  • Chunky veggie patty “meatball” soup
  • Whatever’s-in-the-fridge casserole or burritos
  • Brown Rice Breakfast Porridge
  • Dill cream sauce using leftover pickle juice — from the Waste Free Kitchen Handbook, by Dana Gunders (one of my favorite references while writing this blog)

So whether your approach to meal preparation is formal or freestyle, we’re interested in what you come up with. We also want to encourage kid-friendly recipe submissions. Maybe your young chef has a great recipe to share!

2019 Winter Farmers’ Market patrons

Qualified recipe submissions will be entered into a random drawing to win one of three $30 gift cards to First Alternative Co-op.

TO QUALIFY:

Recipes submitted must be appropriately attributed, either solely to you (family member, etc.), or otherwise identified as to its source. It’s fine if you build your creation around a recipe from a cookbook or website (like our favorites FoodHero.org and BigOven.com) then made it your own, but please tell us where you get it! (We cannot re-publish copyrighted material.)

  1. What’s the name of your dish? Is it for vegans, vegetarians or omnivores? Is it kid-friendly?
  2. What was the inspiration for your dish?
  3. Your recipe, identifying the leftover or Eat First! food items you used from your fridge, freezer or pantry as the primary ingredients. Use as many as you can!
  4. Estimate how much $$ you saved by not wasting those leftover items.
  5. Include 1-2 photos of what you made (and a selfie if you like).

Use our Recipe Submission page to send it by Sunday April 11th (deadline extended from April 4th).

We will randomly draw (3) winners and announce them in our Earth Day blog and Coalition email lists. We’ll also highlight a number of our favorite recipe entries, and may publish an online cookbook. Stay Tuned!

EVERY RECIPE is an entry to win a $30 GIFT CARD! Submit more than one if you like, but please no more than four.

We’re looking forward to seeing what you come up with!

Waste-less cooking for one can be fun!

Greetings, Conscientious Food Consumers!

Back in the pre-COVID era when we tabled regularly at the Corvallis winter and downtown Farmers’ Markets, I had interesting encounters with all kinds of folks who ventured over to our booth to pitch questions and comments, play our “Food Storage IQ” game, take the waste-less pledge (like our market patron below) or to share a favorite food memory or kitchen hack.

Many also shared their own “kitchen confessions,” including this one: “I live alone, and I can’t believe how much of my food gets wasted!” 

She was being a bit hard on herself. For years she’d prepared meals for several people, but now that she lived as both a widow and an empty-nester, our booth visitor was having trouble adjusting her food shopping and preparation habits.  And since many food products are packaged for family-sized meals, the leftovers tended to be more than she could handle.

On the other end of the spectrum, I also encountered singles establishing their first households as young adults. They too knew it was easy to let good food go bad — and they were eager to start out with good non-wasting habits in their own kitchens.

2019 Farmers’ Market patron (status: none of our business)

I was happy to provide these folks, and others to follow, with some of our Smart Strategies (in English and Spanish) and other tactics to try at home. (Keep scrolling!)

In recent years, online resources galore have sprung up to cater to the needs of small-batch and “cooking for one” audiences. A few examples: One Dish Kitchen: the simple pleasure of cooking for one (including meatless and many other recipes), the Kitchn’s meal plans, and 66 recipes from Tasty.co can get you started. You can also get help scaling down your recipes for one with this handy converter.

There’s also plenty of support through social media groups, recipes on Pinterest or Instagram, and a nearly-infinite variety of videos and cookbooks from celebrity chefs and everyday folks alike.

Whether single by circumstance or choice, people living alone in their own dwellings (no housemates or live-in companions) comprised 28% of all households in 2018, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Then came the pandemic and sheltering in place, magnifying the sense of isolation for many.

So let’s have fun with waste-less cooking for one! NOTE: Even if you’re living with family, a partner, housemates or other arrangement, there will still be times when you’re on your own for preparing a meal.

1. FIRST, THE FUN PART: it’s all your choice!  You know your own taste and appetite — so be as spontaneous, creative and adventuresome as you like. Browse some recipes from the links in this blog. Have an omelet for dinner! Dessert in a mug! Maybe your kids, your ex or late spouse didn’t like spicy food, but now you can wander freely through the wondrous world of herbs and spice. (I like cooking with and eating garlic almost every day, and no one complains.)

2. WASTE LESS, MEAL PLAN MORE. Build a week’s worth of menus after “shopping” your fridge, freezer and pantry first. (Here’s a more detailed example of a one-person meal plan.) Then make up your grocery shopping list. Keep in mind that many food products don’t come in single-serving packages, so you’ll need to find different ways to use those up to get your money’s worth. That’s pretty easy to do with a rotisserie chicken, but what about tortillas that only come in packages of 12? (Solution: freeze half of ’em!)

3. WASTE LESS, PREP MORE. You’re more likely to stick to your solo meal plan if substantial parts of it are ready to go. So just loop your favorite playlist and have fun cleaning, slicing, dicing, roasting/baking and packing some ready-to-use or freeze meal components like: proteins (meat/fish/poultry or grains), veggies (what’s not to like about easy sheet pan meals?) and fruits. It can take as little as a “power hour” or two over the weekend! 

“Eat First” Single Portion Meal #1 Salmon Scrambled Egg w/onion

4. NO-FAIL LEFTOVERS. Get creative with random food items (and keep them out of the compost bin) with apps like Big Oven! Example: My one baked salmon fillet (see photos) served as the anchor for two meals and a snack (salmon pate), using some cooked red rice, two types of onion, egg, fresh rosemary and packaged soup from my fridge’s “Eat First” shelf.

“Eat First” Single Portion Meal #2 Salmon Fried Rice w/curry soup

5. SHOP THE BULK and DELI SECTIONS at the grocery store or shop Farmers’ Markets to ensure you’re buying just what you can use. Try buying just one chicken breast instead of a package of four; a custom portion of cheese instead of a whole package; or maybe a couple ounces of those gourmet olives you’ve been secretly craving, instead of a whole can!

Example: Carrots from the bulk produce bin or a bag of pre-peeled minis?

Recently I gambled on whether I could use up a one-pound bag. It was a safe bet: carrots are a versatile veggie that stores well in the fridge (check our A-Z Fruit and Vegetable Storage Guide for details). My plan called for carrots fresh, roasted and stewed — and I enjoyed every bit of them.

Kitchen Confession: In the past, I automatically purchased the bagged ones — and inevitably, two months later, they’d end up at the bottom of my crisper drawer as a partial-bag of dried-up or slimy baby carrots.

6. MAKE YOUR OWN FROZEN CONVENIENCE MEALS and save $$$ by investing a bit of freezer-prep time, creating ready-to-cook single meals and side dishes from the items you prepped in Tip #3 above (make sure to blanch the veggies first). Freeze small batches of bread, tortillas or baked goods before they get moldy on the counter. For a special treat, there’s frozen chocolate chip cookie dough in pre-portioned scoops (see tip #19 at Easy Single-Person Cooking Ideas)! Just don’t forget to keep track of what’s in there.

Finally — GO AHEAD, REWARD YOURSELF with some tasty takeout for wasting less during the week! (Restaurant portions can be generous, so you’ll probably get two meals out of it.)

Whether you’re stuck with it or thrilled to be your own chef, have fun cooking for one!

Keeping spices spicy with Smart Storage

Greetings, Conscientious Food Consumers!

After an unsettling start to this New Year, I’m finding a lot of comfort in the kitchen these days. (Not just while snacking!) And it’s in my spice cupboard.

When was the last time you savored the simple delight of homemade spiced apple cider (also known as wassail)? Ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove, simmering in a pan of apple juice with citrus and sweetener… The mixture diffuses a lovely aroma in the home, and a fragrant, soothing mug of the stuff will fix you up right on a winter’s day.

Oh, and I used up a half-bottle of apple juice from my fridge’s “Eat First!” shelf making it!

That’s how I recently developed a fresh interest in herbs and spices: those magical bits of berry, bark, leaf, flower and root — many from exotic, faraway places — that we humans have used since ancient times for food preparation and enjoyment, healing, cosmetics, trade and ceremony. The history of spice is epic!

Spices, Mapusa Market (Goa, India) https://www.flickr.com/photos/judepics/409841087/ (Creative Commons 2.0.)

The aromatics, colors and variety of herbs and spices are intrinsically comforting, don’t you think? Here’s a searchable, comprehensive list of herbs, spices and seasonings, along with their culinary properties and countries of origin.

Properly employed, the magic of spice and herbs — particularly when they’re fresh or well-preserved and stored — can help you waste less food and save $$$ every day, every meal! Spice magic can inspire you to raid your own pantry and use up everyday staples like rice, beans, pasta and canned goods, and whatever’s in your Eat First areas.

With inspiration from spice allies like cumin, ginger, garlic, curry, red chili oil and paprika, I’ve explored some delightful variations on fried rice.

One of Yeung Man Cooking’s Cantonese-inspired fried rice dishes  (YouTube)

Of course, this blog is not really about “the joy of cooking with spices”… it’s about not wasting what went into each one of those little bottles of flavor: all that agricultural water, energy and human labor; industrial packaging and transportation (fuel) in supply chains across multiple countries. Not to mention all the $$$ you spent stocking your herb and spice cabinet!

Depending on your tastes, using spice can be EXPENSIVE! So here’s a few tips for keeping those spices spicy and ready for use in your 2021 meal plans:

  1. HOW LONG DO SPICES LAST? It’s true spices don’t spoil like other types of food, but over time they will lose their fresh “flavor profile” (as I have discovered, see below!), and have less of an effect in a dish. So pay attention to those “Use By/Best By” dates on the containers. A variety of factors influence a seasoning’s potency, so check the details at StillTasty.com.
  2. BUY JUST WHAT YOU NEED for special dishes (or strictly-occasional use) by shopping the bulk spice and herb bins at the Co-op, Winco, or other stores in our area. You’ll find a great selection and save $$$ too!
  3. For the best flavor retention, BUY WHOLE SPICE/HERB products (for example, nutmeg), then grind or grate them just before usage.
  4. Follow the lead of most herb/spice manufacturers: store bulk-purchased or homegrown seasonings IN GLASS CONTAINERS to preserve the freshness, properly labeled, away from heat and light sources.
  5. DON’T FREEZE spices, but some herbs can be frozen in ice cube trays in water or oil.

Also keep in mind the global carbon footprint of spice. Many of our favorites come to our kitchens from far away, like India (a principal export country), the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and the Caribbean. The nutmeg and cinnamon I used in my spiced cider probably came from Indonesia, Vietnam or Sri Lanka! So there’s a huge supply chain and expenditure of energy involved to get those flavors into our kitchens.

While many of our favorite herbs also originated on other continents, they’ve adapted to cultivation in North America. So your favorite packaged or fresh herbs are easily sourced locally and thus have a smaller carbon footprint: garlic, mint, basil, parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, to name just a few. Or you can grow your own!

*****

Now here’s our first Kitchen Confessions for 2021:

the joy of a well organized spice cabinet!

KAREN CONFESSES:

Now that I’m cooking more regularly, I’m noticing when my use of spice doesn’t have the intended effect (not as tasty, perhaps not spicy enough)!  Although I’m sometimes over-cautious with my use of seasoning, it’s more likely due to the condition of those spices.

Recently I discovered a few three year-old spice bottles whose powdered contents had turned to hard-cake or failed the smell test. Worse yet, I also had a jar of non-expired Japanese gomasio seasoning with what looked like cobwebs inside — eeeeww! 

I also found two near-full bottles of vanilla extract (oops!) that are still fine.

$$ WASTED: Around $10 (guessestimate based on current prices) for the wasted portions in three bottles.

LESSONS LEARNED:

  • Take my own advice above and buy bulk spices, storing them in glass containers.
  • No “clearance” spice purchases, unless I plan on cooking regularly with them!
  • Shop my pantry first! Use up the older bottle of vanilla asap by moving it to the front of the spice cabinet, or give it away to a friend, neighbor or family member who can make use of it.

JEANETTE CONFESSES:

Many times we have bought bulk spices like turmeric or nutmeg, only to come home and realize we already had some in the pantry. That bowl o’bagged spice magic makes it hard to “shop the pantry first” because it’s hard to identify what’s there.

LESSONS LEARNED: Start transferring these beautiful flavors into the glass jars pictured after shopping. Many of those jars need to be emptied into compost and started over because their contents are older and flavorless.

Come up with better labeling for the jars, too — clear tape with sharpie is barely noticeable and faded over time.

$$ WASTED: Probably around $10, once I sort and dump ye olde spices.

Here’s to all that good spicy-ness in 2021!